Ghost

Jade listened carefully, a her brown eyes hazy and detached from reality, or false reality in this case. I’m not brave. She thought to herself. I’m careless and stupid, if anything approached, I would not care if it killed me. She let out a shaky breath. “A-a deal?” She asked, her voice shaky and confused. As he explained, she thought to herself. Why would I join a group, make connections with people, if I could wind up dead the next day? I don’t want to inconvenience anyone when I go, but maybe I could help them out, maybe make myself useful before I go. “Ennakai, I don’t want you to worry about me.” Jade said, with a weak smile on her face. “I don’t want anyone to worry about me, I’m a burden and I know it. Worrying about me will just slow you down, or it could be dangerous even. I don’t want you to get hurt just because you tried to help me.” Jade continued, the same haziness beginning to fill her eyes. “I-I… I Just… I just want everyone to be happy.” Jade said, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I want to make everyone happy before I go. So I can die knowing I did some good.” She tucked her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “I hope you understand…” Jade said ignoring Ennakai’s pinky swear. It was a tempting deal, but she really didn’t want to get to close to anyone before she died. That would only hurt them, she wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.

@Ennakai

Jade looked hesitant at the idea of leaning on Enna's shoulder, and insisted on staying where she was. "You can understand?" Jade asked. "Do you understand why I, I tried to... I-I tried to k... I tried..." Jade paused, taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, then exhaling. "I tried to kill myself..."  She finished, folding her arms under the blanket. This felt like a burden lifted off of her chest. "Ever since I got here... I've been slowly losing myself to this world. Sometimes I look in the mirror and don't know what's staring back at me. I feel unwelcome and unwanted. I just wanted to fade away. About a week after getting trapped, I planned to walk up to a monster and just let it kill me. For some reason, I couldn't do it. I'm a coward." Jade continued, sorrow in her voice. "I just want out so badly. If someone else hadn't shown up, I wouldn't be here right now." Jade sighed. "That's just one story I hold."

@Ennakai

"S-sure..." Jade responded, relived she wouldn't have to pay for her meal for once, but this also kind of bugged her. She didn't want the player to waste time and effort on someone who might not be alive the next day. She stayed silent as they passed through the crowds of players and NPC's alike. Eventually reaching a place to eat, since most places didn't typically serve breakfast at this hour, she would have to make due with lunch. The building was old, had multiple balconies with tables on them. The place served sandwich, soups, stews, deserts, and drinks. The interior of the building was mostly made of a dark brown wood, there was a banister leading up to the second floor and the balconies. There wasn't many people in today, guess they must have missed lunch rush. Jade sat down at an empty corner table, and clasped her hands together in front of her and lowered her head. She was tired, nightmares don't help you sleep.

@Kyot0

"That's so tragic..." She said sorrowfully. "People can be mean and unforgiving..." Thinking about Ennakai's past and trying to make a relation between his and hers. Sorrow flashed in her eyes for a moment as she thought about her life and what it has come to. Ok. She thought to herself. If he had the courage to share something like that to a complete stranger, then I should be able to share something like that too. She began debating in her mind whether or not she should tell him. "Hey... I have a story." She blurted out before she could finish thinking about her decision. "Mine is a little sad..." She continued, taking in a deep breath. The leaves blew around her, the birds stopped chirping in the trees. The leaves that were still attached to the tree's swayed delicately. "D-do, do you want to hear it?"

@Ennakai

Her face reddens more. "Y-Yeah, I'm ok. A-Are you ok? I'm sorry... I'm an idiot." She said nervously, letting out a sigh as she held out her hand. "T-Thanks... She started at her clock in the menu. "I-I missed breakfast." She replied, utterly defeated as her stomach growls. "The place I-I usually go is closed now." She continued. She brushed the dirt off her outfit which was a pair of dark blue pants, a black T-shirt, and a grey jacket, along with a silver necklace with a small sparkling crystal in the center. Her long hair waved around delicately in the wind, which matched her curious brown eyes. "I-I'm sorry for disturbing you... I-I was in a hurry and I wasn't watching where I was going. P-Please forgive me..." Jade explained, her arms crossed. She didn't really know why she does this, maybe it was because her family was unforgiving? Maybe that's why she asks for forgiveness over simple petty things that no one would think twice about.

@Kyot0

Jade listened carefully, at first her reaction was playful, she didn't believe him. Then she realized the he in fact was being serious. She looked confused and perplexed trying to understand. He's a guy? Jade looked at him again, as if to confirm that who she meet really was a guy. Then her face turned red. "I-I..." She sunk into the blanket, hiding in it like a turtles shell, her eyes still visible. "...I don't know how to r-respond." She paused. "I figured it would be something big, but I didn't know it was something like that..." She raised her head out of her "shell". "At the very least I know why your friend ran away now." Jade paused, still processing what Enna said. "I'd still like to hear the story..." Jade asked. "...I-If you don't mind." Jade then thought to herself. The last time someone told them something like this about them, was a few months ago, and even then she told them something dark about her in return. Where are they now? Gone. They ran away, or at least Jade hoped they did, they could be dead. Should she tell Enna in return?

@Ennakai

The neighboring player held out her hand and waved it in a recognizable motion. "I-I'm low level, and I-I just wanted some advice for guilds." She clasped her hands together on the table. "I-I don't know what to do..." She said miserably, clearly distressed. She heard the sounds of metal clanking behind her, she turned and saw a man in armor approach, holding one of the flyers that flew off the table. The man in armor and the player that arrived before appeared to have known each other, no more then known each other. The man indirectly asked for her name. "I-I'm Ghost..." She said shyly. She looked at the papers she was hunched over. "Ye-Yeah I'm looking for a guild to join, but its hard t-to choose..." Jade looked shaken. The part she feared most was meeting the other members of the guild she would join. Fearing they would hate her, or dislike her. Meaning she would force herself to choose a small guild. "I want to join a s-small guild, and I was going t-to ask her for some advice." She gestured towards the player the man called "Neo".

@Neopolitan

@Hazado

"No, I understand. Sometimes its just better to be the narrator." Jade spoke calmly, her eyes cloudy for a moment. She thought about the sentence for a few seconds longer before snapping back into reality. Jade's eyes widened when Enna said "...and I think you have a good reason to be the way you are." Does she know what's wrong with me? She shook her head, refusing to accept that this girl she had just met knew any of her problems. "S-Sorry... I got a bit of a headache... You were saying?" She said, this was her best excuse she managed to assemble off the top of her head.

The last time she heard that line was when she was watching video's alone in her room and a guy was wearing a dress in a video game, he then said "Don't laugh, this gives me poison resistance". So as you can imagine, hearing that made her snicker a little. But Jade was now curious more then anything. "Why would I run? Or walk away from a conversation like this for that matter?" Jade asked. "I love stories. I wouldn't leave now unless I get the story I was promised." A real smile formed on her face. "Plus, I'm rather curious, what is it?"

@Ennakai

Jades eyes widened as the Ennakai made a connection between herself and player killers. Immediately realizing what she said, Ennakai tried to explain. "Hehe..." Jade laughed nervously as she explained she was an info broker. "That sounds like an interesting role. What's it like?" Jade closed her book. The wind blew through the forest, leaving her with a slight chill and a curiosity, she opened up her menu, retrieving a small gray fuzzy blanket to cover herself, looking at the girl across from her then back to the blanket surrounding Jade, who started to feel bad. "Do you want one? I believe I have an extra." Though the tone of her voice implied: I have an extra, take it. "I wish I had more to tell you about Forsaken Memory, but that's all I've read through so far. Even then this is the third volume, and I don't want to skim two seven hundred paged books." [OOC: Don't actually look that up, its not a real book.]

@Ennakai

She stayed silent, embarrassment visible in her posture, regretting what she said. She looked down to her right, her hair covering part of her face, hands at her sides. She typically does this when she thinks she has done something wrong. "I-I'm sorry!" She faced forward towards Jun, she showed signs of anxiety. "I-I'm an idiot..." She whimpered to herself. 

When Jun shook her hand, she flinched and once it was over she hastily had it back at her side. She looked shocked that nothing bad happened. "J-Jun, as in the month?" She asked politely. As Jun got closer to Jade, she took a single step back in response. "Friends?" She was confused, if they had just met could they be considered friends? This made her question the friendships she already held close to her for comfort, were they really friends or glorified acquaintances? The dying part didn't exactly get a response verbally, but in her eyes was a response: Distress. 

She remembered she spotted something when she looked to her right earlier, she picked it up and watched it glow a bright blue before vanishing into her inventory. "One down..." She spoke calmly. 

1/5

@Jun (Sorry it took so long)

Jade's eyes opened slowly. There was something around her, it was warm and cozy. She sat up dazed and looked around, a small note stuck to her cheek which said "Please join, we have cookies". There was a girl around the same age across from her. Her reaction at first was to stare at the neighboring player, her expression perplex and confused. Then her face was flooded by embarrassment and a hint of guilt as it turned red. "I-I... Um..." She forced her eyes down to the table. Great. Jade thought to herself. You got someone to worry about you, you know someone else out there needs it more then you. Your just wasting her time. She shook nervously, watching a few of the papers blow off the table. After careful consideration "H-hey, sorry if this sounds weird, but a-are you an experienced player?" She asked, hoping to get some advice for her current problem.

@Neopolitan

She mixed two of the materials and the result was a complex compound that smelled like iron, it acted like a gel of sorts, something you wouldn't want to put in your body. She thought to herself, what if I were to mix two of these compounds together? And so she began to mix another set of different materials aside as she began super heating the other compound, which seeing as something exploded in front of her before, it probably wasn't a good idea. She then took the super heated gel, which became, which was now a fluid and placed them in an airtight glass container that connect to each other via glass tubing. The super heated fluid left reside in the original container, meaning that as it cooled it became a gel. In the middle of the glass tubing, there was a tiny lever, allowing flow between the two sections. She turned the level, letting them mix, and...

"Y-you weren't laughing at me?" Jade asked. "I j-just kind of assumed that you were..." She looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact, like she does with most people. Jade listened carefully while he was talking as she was looking around in the grass for any materials. He reminded her of herself in an ironic way, it seemed neither of them knew how to talk to people, Jade flat out is usually too nervous to talk fearing that everyone hated her so she avoided talking as much as possible, he on the other hand seemed to enjoy talking, but he just couldn't arrange the words correctly and thought people would judge him based on it. But that's just Jade's guess, though this did bring a weak smile to her face for a second.  "I-It's a pleasure to meet you, too." She paused for a moment. "Uh... Hehe... S-sorry if this sound a bit odd, but we haven't been properly introduced, h-have we?" She stopped searching and faced him. "I'm G-Ghost." She forced her hand out in front of her, her arm resisting the attempt to make a friendly handshake every step of the way.

@Jun

It was mid-day, the sun shined brightly on those below in the Town of New Beginnings. Jade stared at the bulletin board, unable to decide where she was going to take her life from here. "Why can't be this easy..."  She mumbled to herself. The board was full of guilds that needed or wanted members. She could chose one from up there, or just turn around and walk away. She knew she needed to join a group of people eventually, she just didn't know which group to go with, also her legs were getting tired from standing for so long. She decided to grab one paper full of info from almost every guild that had these little bits of propaganda, except a few, and walked over to a table and laid them all down, reading each one over carefully. She started getting tired while around halfway through reading them, and fell asleep. Her head being the paperweight that stopped the flyers from blowing away. 

(OOC: Hazado, this is for the guild thing in case you couldn't tell.)

@Hazado and or @Neopolitan

Jade continued to search through the field. "H-Hey, don't laugh..." She said nervously. "...T-This is supposed to increase my c-chances of finding s-something." She tugged on the sides of the dress with her hands, looking down at the white fabric. She continues to search, remaining quiet. She didn't really know how to talk to people.She continued searching through the fields. Her face was still a bright shade of red which was harder to see in the orange light of dusk, she never wore anything like she was wearing in front of another person, not to mention a guy. I certainly jumped the bridge here did I? What was I thinking. Jade shook her head in disappointment. Still nothing, but at least she was making progress. She looked up, their were monsters everywhere, but they didn't seemed to be aggravated. Maybe the wildlife in the field was only aggravated when attacked like some games do in the tutorial areas? She didn't want to take her chances and did her best to avoid them.

@Jun

The sudden statement made Jade jump. "S-Sorry... I didn't see you there." She paused thinking about his offer. "Sure..." Her voice was shaky. "...I'm, I'm collecting materials for a q-quest. I-I only need five, so it shouldn't be that h-hard." She laughed nervously, which was followed by an odd silence. "Let's go then..." She walked out to the fields in front of the Town, assuming the person who offered to help was following, carefully searching for Materials. That's when she remembered that she had something that increases the chance of finding something. She went through her inventory and put on a "White Dress" [+3 LD]. Her face was bright red. She resumed searching the field. Nothing. Its a shame really, it seems like no matter what she does, misfortune and bad luck seem to track her down where and whenever they can. She let out a irritated sigh before moving on.

@Jun

It's not my decision tho, its @Grimm's.

Alright, I'm now level 4. I'm ready to start when you are @Grimm.

“Um, are you Zack?” Jade asked nervously. “I-I’ve come for the quest, um, the first, the first few lessons are free?” The buildings light was dimmed, the wood looked old and vintage, some exposed nails raised a few safety concerns. “Indeed, I am ‘Zack’. I can help you get started in the land of Aincrad. But first I need you to do is to bring me five tier one materials.” The man went on about the rest of the information about the quest. “O-ok…” She said, her voice calming. Ghost walked out of the building onto the paved streets of The Town of New Beginnings as a turmoil of voices filled the air around her, she wasn’t in her combat armor yet, she simply wore her casual getup. She looked into the sky, it was changing into a orange to pink gradient as it became dusk. She let out a long sigh before saying: “I just can’t talk to people today, can I? Not even an NPC? Hehe...” Jade tried to form a smile, but she couldn’t. Mind as well get this over with. She thought before heading towards what she though was the direction of the fields, she didn't make it that far without getting lost in the streets.

@Jun

Oh, I should probably update my battle ready. Because I also have a bit of MIT.

I also have +3 Evasion and a dagger that does more damage then normal and a bleed effect.

I recently found out I may have had more SP then previously thought.

Jade walked back into the store, it certainly has been awhile. She approached the counter, seeing the outfits neatly folded and laid on the table. "Hey! I'm leaving the money on the counter! I'm here to pick up my stuff!" She shouted to the back room. Laying a small bag of materials on the counter, and taking her new apparel, quickly stashing them away into the depths of her inventory before she turned back and went the way she came.

Jade obtained:

Agile Cloak and White Dress in exchange for: Three Tier 1 Materials

@Kyot0

Jade was delighted when Shiro actually friended her. Immediately accepting the friend request as it popped into view. "Bye." She smiles, taking what was left of her muffin with her out of the cafe. Heading towards towards her next stop, the market area then hopefully what she had done will give her the courage to go after a quest. Passing by Shiro in the crowd and giving him a short wave before vanishing as she turned a street corner. Maybe things won't end so badly after all. She thought to herself, as she recalled the days events. Meeting a complete stranger in a cafe and making friends with them while there, which was something that gave Jade the boost of self esteem she needed despite most of the conversation being awkward for both parties. Shiro, as she recalled, was searching for his sister, which begged the question, why is she missing and will she be found?

THREAD CLOSED:

Ghost | 1 SP + 200 Col

@Huginn | 1 SP + 200 Col

I'd like to join in too. I haven't battled against anything yet and I'm kind of excited to start doing so. But first, I need to finish one of my threads so I can level up. Since I looked at the quest level recommendations and we should be roughly level 5. And right now I'm only level one. We could start now if we could get someone with a level that has a higher level then 5 who happens to be a tank.